Improvements coming to Northern State Hospital cemetery

SEDRO-WOOLLEY - The city of Sedro-Woolley has received a state Department of Commerce grant to make improvements at the Northern State Hospital cemetery.

"This was a capital grant that our legislative delegation in Olympia helped us to secure," City Administrator Charlie Bush said.

Mayor JoEllen Kesti said she is excited about the grant and the project it will fund.

"It's truly a privilege to be able to honor those people up there," she said.

The $169,750 grant covers construction costs as well as architecture and engineering fees. The project requires an archeological review.

"I view this as a dignity project and not a capital improvement project," Councilmember Karl de Jong said.

In 2018, the city was deeded the Northern State Hospital cemetery property from the state, and assumed all property maintenance.

It's the final resting place of about 1,500 hospital patients.

"The city has taken charge of the Northern State cemetery," Public Works Director Bill Bullock said. "This grant is for the refurbishment of the cemetery."

In 2025, city staff applied for the grant for site improvements, including the removal of historically inaccurate fencing, and installation of a memorial plaza, a new hedge and brick pillars that will correctly mark the outer boundary of the cemetery.

The memorial plaza will include benches, sidewalks, lawn and plants, and a memorial obelisk with the names of those interred at the cemetery.

"We will be looking at various landscaping options as well as fixing fences," Bullock said. "But the most notable piece is a new memorial obelisk that will have all the names on record of those who have been interred there, although it's not obvious where they have been interred on the site."

Community input stresses the need to better memorialize those who interred.

"So all that being said, we were able to secure this grant from the Department of Commerce and it required no match," Bullock said. "It basically requires $25,000 for architecture and engineering, which also includes archeological services because that is going to be important with all this.

"This leaves a little over $144,000 for construction, although right now our construction estimate exceeds that amount. But lately, we have been going about 20% under our estimates which would put us right about at that amount."

Now that it has funding, the city will put the project out to bid.

"Then we will give the council the options of either how to fund any shortfalls and/or the different elements that we can trim and do at a later date as well, " Bullock said. "So we will come up with those options when we receive those bids."

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 6:05 PM.